§46-178 - Jurisdiction. - Hawaii Statutes

     [§46-178]  Jurisdiction.  (a)  No court shall have jurisdiction over an action under this part based upon the public disclosure of allegations or transactions in a criminal, civil, or administrative hearing, in a legislative or administrative report, hearing, audit, or investigation, or from the news media, unless the action is brought by a county corporation counsel or county attorney or the person bringing the action is an original source of the information.

     (b)  For purposes of this section:

     "Original source" means an individual who has direct and independent knowledge of the information on which the allegations are based and has voluntarily provided the information to the county before filing an action under this part that is based on the information, and whose information provided the basis or catalyst for the investigation, hearing, audit, or report that led to the public disclosure. [L 2001, c 227, pt of §1]